Anthony Slide, Studio City, California, is the author of some seventy-five books, including Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins and Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators, and Gossip Mongers, both published by University Press of Mississippi. He is a renowned film scholar, who in 1990 was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters for his contributions to the history of popular culture. At that time, he was hailed by Lillian Gish as "our pre-eminent silent film historian."